A NEW CHALLENGE

Though his playing days were over, Jason had not lost the itch for basketball. After announcing his retirement, his agent Jeff Schwartz asked him what was next. The two discussed his options, and when the prospect of coaching came up, it was noted that the Nets — perhaps the team Jason had helped the most in his Hall of Fame career — were looking for a new head man.

He interviewed for the job and just nine days after announcing his retirement as a player, Jason Kidd was named the 18th coach of the Nets. Jason acknowledged that jumping into a new role without experience wouldn’t be easy, but said it was a task he’d meet head on.

“I’m a rookie. I go from being one of the oldest guys in the league to being a rookie coach. I’m very excited about this challenge,” he said. “This is a tremendous opportunity to be named head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, and it’s a role I have been studying for over the course of my playing days,” Jason said. “Championship teams are built on being prepared, playing unselfishly and being held accountable, and that’s how I expect to coach this basketball team. I am truly excited about this next phase of my basketball career.”

Jason’s career as a coach got off to a rocky start as a Nets team that was attempting to integrate several new pieces and gel in a short period of time, had trouble finding the cohesiveness necessary to compete at a high level. The Nets lost 21 of their first 31 games and came perilously close to falling out of contention.

But through it all, Jason’s faith in his team and himself never wavered. Reflecting on the season after it was over, J-Kidd noted that Brooklyn’s rough start was one of the biggest tests of his career.

“How do you respond when things don’t go well?” Kidd asked. “We got to find out right off the bat. I wouldn’t panic.”

As if they’d hit the rest button on the season, things got better for Brooklyn just as a new calendar year began on January 2. In a sign of things to come, Coach Kidd’s squad showed resilience and heart in a come-from-behind 95-93 victory over the Thunder in Oklahoma City, capped by a buzzer beater from star swingman Joe Johnson.

With his players finally healthy, J-Kidd showed his true chops as a coach in January, coaching the Nets to wins in 10 of their 13 games over the course of the month. For his efforts, Jason was awarded Coach of the Month by the NBA. Upon learning of the recognition. Coach Kidd modestly downplayed his role in the team’s success.

“I think it’s a great honor for guys in that locker room because they’ve been playing at a high level,” he said of the award.

The Nets continued to roll in February and climbed within striking of distance of the .500 mark and playoff contention as the calendar turned to March. It was in the third month of the new year that the Nets were perhaps at their peak. Brooklyn went a 12-4 record in March, including a perfect mark of 9-0 at the Barclays Center, setting a new franchise best mark for consecutive wins at home that eventually stopped at 15 in early April. Brooklyn was strong on the road in March as well, highlighted by a 107-104 overtime victory on March 27 — Jason’s birthday — in his Dallas homecoming. Afterward, Coach Kidd lauded his team for their effort to fight back and beat the Mavs.

“We found ourselves winning a ballgame that maybe in 2013 we would have lost,” he said.

At the end of March, the NBA once again recognized Jason with the Coach of the Month accolade for his continued success. He became just the second rookie coach in NBA history to win the award twice in one season, joining Chicago’s Tom Thibodeau. On the same day he received that honor, Coach Kidd’s team gave him a much more meaningful reward with a 105-96 win over the Houston Rockets at the Barclays Center that clinched Brooklyn’s spot in the postseason.

“That’s something that we felt we could accomplish as a team,” Coach Kidd said after the victory. “Unfortunately we didn’t start off well and some people didn’t believe it, but we just stayed the course.”

Brooklyn ended up as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and drew a first round matchup with Atlantic Division Champion Toronto Raptors. The Nets used the playoff experience held by Coach Kidd and veterans like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to their advantage in what ended up being a knock-down, drag-out seven game battle with the Raptors.

Led by Pierce’s late-game heroics and some lock down defense, they stole Game 1 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, 87-84, a critical way to start the series, marking Jason’s first playoff win as a coach.

“Playoff basketball is about getting stops at crucial times in the game,” Coach Kidd said of his team’s defense down the stretch. “Everybody helped one another, trying to take away the three, understanding that they have guys who can put the ball on the floor and get to the basket. Our team defense of helping one another was big tonight to give us a chance to win on the road.”

The Raptors earned a split at home with a Game 2 win, and although the Nets won Game 3 on their home floor, Toronto stole home court advantage back with a Game 4 win in Brooklyn, sending the series back to Toronto tied 2-2. The Raptors made the most of their hometown favor by winning a 115-113 Game 5 thriller that suddenly pushed Brooklyn to the brink of elimination.

Still there was no panic in Coach Kidd’s style and his team’s performance over the next two games reflected that. In Game 6, Jason’s squad dug deep and dismantled the Raptors 97-83 in Brooklyn to even the series and force a Game 7 in Toronto. Two days later, Jason became the first rookie head coach to win a Game 7 on the road, when his Nets outlasted the Raptors 104-103.

The win set up a second round matchup against the two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat, and Brooklyn’s season came to an abrupt end as they picked up just one win over the Heat in the series and were ousted in five. Still, Jason reflected on the season with no regrets, able to look back and take pride in the way he and his team overcame adversity to prosper in his rookie year as a coach.

“My first year as a coach, there were a lot of unknowns, so understanding that going in, with the staff and the players I had, I couldn’t ask for a better situation. I’m happy that my first year as a coach to have been with those guys in that locker room,” he said. “It was a great learning experience. I have a great staff and great guys in that locker room to be able to coach and be around, so it was a fantastic year.”

STARTING OVER IN MILWAUKEE

The 2014-15 season would prove to be Jason’s only one as coach of the Nets.

A sequence of offseason events in Brooklyn led the Nets to negotiate a trade of Coach Kidd’s rights to the Milwaukee Bucks.

On July 2, 2014 Jason was introduced as the 14th head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, a franchise with a storied history in need of help to rebuild and return to the glory days of their past success.

“For our organization, to be able to get someone like Jason is phenomenal,” Owner Marc Lasry said. “We’re really excited to have Jason be our coach.”

“Our number one goal when we bought the team was to hire people to run it that know what they’re doing,” co-owner Wes Edens explained. “Jason is a person I’ve admired as a player for a long time. Being a New Yorker, he did a great job managing the Nets this year and we think he is the best young coaching talent in basketball.  We couldn’t be more excited about that.”

At his introductory press conference, Jason expressed gratitude towards the Milwaukee organization and his plans to make the Bucks a competitive NBA franchise.

“I would like to thank Wes and Mark for giving me this opportunity,” he said. “I’m very excited to be here in Milwaukee and to be a part of a young, talented roster… This is a family and I’m just very happy to be welcomed into this family. I’m looking for very good things to come in the future, but also today. This is about the Milwaukee Bucks and I’m very happy for this opportunity.”

Jason knows he will have his work cut out for him, as he attempts to become the fifth coach in Milwaukee history to earn and maintain a winning record, and he’ll be doing so with a much younger team in a much smaller market with different resources than he left in Brooklyn. But Jason made a point to note that what the game of basketball boils down to has little to do with the size of the market they play in.

“It’s not about the market it’s about being able to teach. I have a great opportunity in Milwaukee with a young roster. I’ve played in small markets and I’ve played in big markets. Basketball is inside the arena. It doesn’t matter what market you’re in. It’s about wins and losses and that’s the way I approach it,” Coach Kidd said. “Milwaukee has a lot of great things to sell. I think it’s the talent and being able to win a championship.”

YEAR 1 IN MILWAUKEE

The Milwaukee Bucks were an instant success in J-Kidd’s first year at the helm.

Milwaukee stumbled to the NBA’s worst record: 15-67 the year before Jason arrived, but he brought them straight to the playoffs. The Bucks turned it right around, going 41-41 to earn the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks faced a tough first-round matchup against an experienced Chicago Bulls squad and went down 3-0.

But with things looking grim, J-Kidd’s group battled, winning back-to-back games, including one at Chicago’s United Center to bring the series back to 3-2. Unfortunately, the Bulls took Game 6, ending Milwaukee’s run. But overall, Jason saw Year 1 as a tremendous success.

“My thought after the game was I wanted to congratulate the guys on a great year,” J-Kidd said. “Not just a great series, but a great year for putting themselves in this position. The second (thing) is to learn from this situation and use it….I don’t want to say for motivation for the summer, but for them to get better because they’re not a secret anymore and they’ve got to get better if they want to compete against the best.”

The Bucks were competitive all year long, playing to a 10-7 record to open the year. That early stretch included some big wins over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies and Miami Heat. Jabari Parker was out to a fantastic start for his career after being drafted No. 2 overall, averaging more than 12 points and five rebounds per game—but in his 25th professional outing, he tore his ACL, marking an early end to his rookie campaign.

“Jabari was playing at a very high level for us,” Jason said after the injury. “I thought he was doing everything as a rookie, being able to play both ends and help the team win.”

With Jabari out, Khris Middleton came into his own and established himself as a leader and go-to scorer on the wing. He averaged a career-high 13.4 points per game, racking up several game-winning and clutch shots late for the Bucks.

The Bucks were outstanding in late January and early February. From Jan. 24 to Feb. 20, Milwaukee went 10-2, roaring to a 31-23 record. Late in the year, their youth showed, as they stumbled through March, falling below .500 for the first time since December.

When their playoff lives were in jeopardy—they battled back. The Bucks won back-to-back games over the Heat and the Indiana Pacers, and again over the Bulls and the Boston Celtics. Finally, the Bucks won three out of their last four to finish the season right at .500.

The playoffs brought some thrilling action. The Bucks had beaten the Bulls just once in four meetings during the regular season, and they put up a tremendous fight in the postseason. After a couple of tough losses in Chicago, the series returned to Milwaukee, where the Bucks dropped a double-overtime heartbreaker, putting them on the brink of elimination.

But Jason’s squad kept fighting. The Bucks claimed Game 4 on a buzzer-beating layup by Jerryd Bayless. Then Michael Carter-Williams and Middleton combined for 43 points to steal another win in Game 5 on the road.

“You can always talk about the future, but we don’t. We don’t really understand what the future holds for us. We’ve got to stay in the present. This is what this team has done all year. They haven’t looked at the future. They’ve just stayed in the present,” Jason said. “They’ve worked their tails off and they’ve put themselves in this position to make [it] a series.”

Unfortunately, the Bucks were left looking forward to the future after a rough Game 6, as the Bulls cruised to a win and sent Milwaukee home for the season. But despite the exit from the playoffs, Jason remained optimistic.

“You look at us right now. … Our core is pretty rich, pretty deep and pretty young,” Coach Kidd said. “The future is bright.”

YEAR 2: GROWING PAINS

The Milwaukee Bucks made changes during the 2015 offseason, bringing a new logo, color scheme and look to the franchise.

On the court, the young Bucks got younger. They added big man Greg Monroe to the mix, but they also lost a few key veterans off their bench. Bench play was a major strength for the Bucks in 2014-15, but in 2015-16, depth was an issue—also much thanks to injuries. Michael Carter-Williams, Greivis Vasquez, Steve Novak, O.J. Mayo, Jerryd Bayless and John Henson were all out for extended periods of time—and only four players (Antetokounmpo, Monroe, Middleton and Parker) played more than 70 games.

As a result, the Bucks took a step back on paper, finishing the season at 33-49 and out of the playoff conversation. But Jason still saw plenty of progress out of his young group.

“When you look at our year on paper and in the standings, it’s easy to just say, ‘The Bucks took a step back,'” Jason said. “But from inside our organization, we see things differently. We saw a lot of progress by a talented young team.”

The big four who were able to stay healthy on the court for 70-plus games all had outstanding individual seasons. Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged nearly 17 points and 7.7 rebounds per game and was fourth in the league with five triple-doubles. Parker averaged just over 14 points a game in his first full NBA season. The two players were consistently making highlight reel plays, rocking the rim and getting teammates involved.

Shooting guard Khris Middleton also provided a consistent spark for the Bucks offensively, leading his team with 18 points per game. Numerous injuries forced Jason to swap his lineup regularly. But whether Greg Monroe was starting or coming off the bench, the new Buck always made an impact. The fifth year forward averaged 15.3 points per game and 8.8 rebounds.

While the young Bucks went through some growing pains, Jason had some physical pain to fight through as well. On Dec. 21, Coach Kidd underwent a hip resurfacing operation to repair an injury from his playing days.

“When that happened, pain became the norm. I tried to withstand it, but at a certain point, it just became too much. Once it became a constant and there was no break from it, I couldn’t sleep. There wasn’t any good position to sleep in. That’s when I knew that we needed to address it as soon as possible.

I went to the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York back in late December, and had the surgery done by Dr. Edwin Su, the best hip surgeon in the country. We were lucky to be able to do it when we did, especially with Dr. Su’s busy schedule. He went in and did a resurfacing of my hip. To do that, they had to dislocate the hip, trim down the bone and place a metal cap over it. Then they put a metal cup in to connect to it all, and that takes the place of the hip.”

With a shiny new hip, Jason returned to the court in January to lead the Bucks once again. Unfortunately, through all the injuries—to coach and player–the Bucks never had the continuity they needed to make a second straight march to the playoffs. But despite a difficult year, things were looking up for the Bucks going into Jason’s third year.

“Physically, I feel great. The surgery I had during the season has helped me feel a million times better. It was something that needed to be done when it was done, and Dr. Su did a wonderful job with it. The rehab has been great, so I have had no problems being myself again. With that behind me, I’m ready to continue working toward getting this team better for next year.

We’re all thankful for Bucks fans who come out and support us every day. We understand that we fell short of our goal, but we will come back better from our experience this past season. We look forward to having you out there at the arena cheering us on.

Just because we didn’t attain our goal last year doesn’t change anything. We’re still reaching for that ultimate goal, and that’s first to make it to the playoffs next season, so we can all enjoy that and play for that gold trophy. The ultimate goal is to win a championship, and we’re going to do everything in our power to win it.”

YEAR 3: BACK IN THE PLAYOFFS

The Milwaukee Bucks went into the 2016 offseason needing to retool their roster after a disappointing season. This started, however, by locking up their main guy in their first big move of the summer when they signed up and coming star Giannis Antetokounmpo to a four-year, $100M extension.

The Bucks sought more athletic wing depth and dealt former Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams to the Chicago Bulls for Tony Snell. The move paid off for the Bucks as Snell played in 80 games and averaged 8.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists while shooting 45.5% from the floor and 40.6% from distance. In addition, Snell added a great defensive piece for the Bucks to complement Antetokounmpo on the wing. In addition to adding Snell, Milwaukee ended up drafting the Rookie of the Year winner, Malcolm Brogdon, in the second round of the NBA draft. Brogdon averaged 10.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.8 rebounds and shot 45.7% from the floor and 40.4% from distance while starting 28 games.

In addition to their new players, the Bucks got a breakout year from Giannis Antetokounmpo at age 22. Giannis complied statistics across the board, averaging 22.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.6 steals – leading the team in all five categories.

While there were positives across the roster, there was another scary moment in the development of Jabari Parker when he suffered his second left ACL tear in the past three seasons in February. Coach Kidd confirmed the suspicions and said Parker was ruled out for 12 months, ending a strong season for the youngster.

Despite that fact, the Bucks made it back to the postseason as the Eastern Conference’s sixth seed with a record of 42-40.

In the postseason, Milwaukee faced the Toronto Raptors and stole Game 1 on the road with a dominant performance, winning 97-83. After splitting the first two in Toronto, the Bucks protected home court with a big win in Game 3, 104-77, to take a 2-1 series lead.

“Everyone has a role,” Kidd said as the Bucks prepared for Game 4 of their first-round playoff series against Toronto. “Some roles are bigger than others. If they stay in character as a team, a lot of times that movie is great to watch. If they get out of character, it’s not a very good movie. So we talk about that a lot. Stay in character. If you stay in it; don’t do more, don’t do less. I’ve heard it many times over the years and I’m a big believer in it.”

The Bucks were unable to get another game from the veteran Raptors as they ripped off three straight to advance to the second round, but the growth was there for the Bucks as they entered the offseason.

“This was a hard fought series, both teams played as hard as they could and Toronto was the better team.”

YEAR 4: UNFINISHED BUSINESS

In the 2017 offseason, Milwaukee used their first round selection in the NBA draft to pick D.J. Wilson from the University of Michigan. The selection stayed true to Milwaukee’s love of long, athletic prospects as Wilson is 6’10”.

Without Jabari Parker to start the season, the Bucks were shorthanded on talent and quickly decided they needed to make a move. On November 7, Milwaukee agreed to trade Greg Monroe and two protected draft picks to the Phoenix Suns for Eric Bledsoe.

“We’re excited, Eric’s excited,” Kidd said.

Bledsoe immediately helped ease the ball handling burden on Giannis Antetokounmpo and delivered a four-game winning streak upon his arrival.

After a hot start with Bledsoe, the Bucks stayed consistently around the .500 mark throughout the rest of the calendar year and into January 2018. With expectations of the team taking the next step this season, Milwaukee’s front office was disappointed in the start.

On January 22, 2018 after three-and-a-half years at the helm of the Bucks, Jason was relieved of his head coaching duties. J-Kidd thanked the Milwaukee franchise for the opportunity as he heads forth into the next chapter of his career.

“I had a great time in Milwaukee to help bring the Bucks into a positive light,” he said. “Great city, great fans. I wish them the best. I was lucky to have time with Giannis and the rest of the guys.”

ASSISTANT IN LA

After taking a year away from the game to recharge, while lending his services to ESPN and Turner as an analyst on occasion, Jason re-emerged into the coaching sphere in the summer of 2019 when he was selected as an assistant on Frank Vogel’s staff with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The role gave Jason his first opportunity to work with LeBron James, a teammate on the 2008 Olympic team and opponent in the 2011 NBA Finals where J-Kidd captured his only title as a player.

When Jason joined the Lakers, the two began their pursuit of a common goal once again.

“[LeBron is] one of the smartest players in the world, you talk about one of the best players to ever play the game, the right way,” Kidd said. “So I’m very excited to help him hopefully achieve his goal and our goal as the Lakers, and that’s to win a championship.”

That’s exactly what the Los Angeles Lakers did in 2020. Led by LeBron, superstar offseason trade acquisition Anthony Davis and Coach Vogel, LA got out to an incredible start to the 2019-20 season. However, the Lakers saw the season placed on hold in March due to the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, a world health crisis that put sports across the globe on pause. After months of seeking out solutions and wondering if the season would even be completed, the NBA resumed play in July, under unprecedented circumstances, when the league created a bubble environment at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

The Lakers were one of 22 teams in the NBA’s bubble and every member of the organization spent months isolated in Orlando, away from their families. But the sacrifice was just part of the championship journey for Los Angeles.

The Lakers won just three of their eight regular season “seeding” games in the bubble, but got going once the playoffs arrived, winning each of their Western Conference playoff series in just five games. In the Finals, they faced the Miami Heat, the same franchise Jason had defeated to win his lone title as a player, and the result was the same, as LA defeated Miami in six games to win the 17th championship in Lakers franchise history. For the first time in his coaching career, Jason was a champion.

Jason returned for a second season as a Lakers assistant coach in 2020-21. LA entered the season with a target on their back, their rivals having used the offseason to reload in an attempt to dethrone the champs, and a season plagued by injuries to their stars saw L0s Angeles bow out in the opening round to the eventual Western Conference Champion Phoenix Suns.